In Europe, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) was transposed into UK law in January 2007 by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006. The aim of the Regulations is to encourage the recycling and recovery of Electrical and Electronic equipment. Legislation covers 10 categories of WEEE recycling, consisting of: e-Waste or WEEE is a growing problem and typically comprises one of the following:

Many states in the EU have introduced legislation concerning PC recycling and IT Disposal- more is available here. They have also introduced legislation governing the reuse of computers or computer parts or other electronics. Most American computer recycling legislations address it from within the larger electronic waste issue. 2001 saw the enactment of the Arkansas Computer and Electronic Solid Waste Management Act in the United states, which requires that state agencies manage and sell surplus computer equipment, establish a computer and electronics recycling fund, and authorize the Department of Environmental Quality to regulate and/or ban the disposal of computer and electronic equipment in Arkansas landfills. Waste recycling sites for this state can be found here.

Computer components contain many toxic substances, like dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), cadmium, chromium, radioactive isotopes, and mercury. A typical computer monitor may contain more than 6% lead by weight, much of which is in the lead glass of the cathode ray tube (CRT). A typical 15-inch computer monitor may contain 1.5 pounds (1 kg) of lead, but other monitors have been estimated to have up to 8 pounds (4 kg) of lead. Circuit boards contain considerable quantities of lead-tin solders that are more likely to leach into groundwater or create air pollution due to incineration. The processing (e.g. incineration and acid treatments) required to reclaim these precious substances may release, generate, or synthesize toxic byproducts.